Maybe what they were saying…Michael Kidd-Gilchrist pictured below at his Charlotte Bobcats workout: “Take him at 2, Bobcats. Draft my man Bradley Beal over here. I’m not trying to play for the worst team in NBA history. Bradley Beal: “You better watch that, Mike. You know I’m not trying to play here either bro.”

This could be good news for the player eventually drafted 2nd overall next Thursday. The Charlotte Bobcats and Cleveland Cavaliers are either in discussions, or might have spoke already, about the possibility of trading that 2nd pick. We speculated about this initially, and then heard similar reports before. It’s the smokescreen pre-Draft narrative where Cleveland trades the 24th pick overall (probably) in exchange for the right to move up two spots (from 4 to 2). Instead of doing this in order to acquire MKG this time though, Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated writes the Cavaliers are considering the move in order to Draft Beal.

As Charlotte continues to ponder its decision at No. 2, numerous executives expect the Bobcats to be approached by Cleveland (No. 4) about the possibility of swapping picks (if it hasn’t happened already) in order for the Cavaliers to land Florida shooting guard Bradley Beal. While Cavs point guard Kyrie Irving is known to be a huge proponent of drafting North Carolina small forward Harrison Barnes, it appears Beal has shot up their big board just as he has so many others, and it’s widely believed that he won’t get past Washington at No. 3 if they don’t make a move.

The Cavs have four picks (Nos. 4, 24, 33, 34), and those could be enticing to the Bobcats as assets should they decide to pursue both quality and quantity in this draft. It would make some sense, considering they’re coming off such a horrific season (league-record-low winning percentage of .106) and need so much roster help. What’s more, if the widely held opinion that Washington would take Kentucky small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at the No. 3 spot if Beal was gone held true, the Bobcats could still get Barnes at No. 4 if that’s the direction they wanted to go. For more on that …

If Charlotte is left alone, nobody trades with them, and they are forced to pick 2nd overall, I believe they’ll go with Thomas Robinson from Kansas. He’s a good pick in that spot for the Bobcats too. He’ll hold his own out there. You’d be asking MKG, Beal, or Barnes to do a whole lot if you dropped them into that mess on the perimeter, but playing in the paint is more of a known quantity to some extent. Sure, Robinson will get zero help inside for Charlotte. He won’t have much on the wing to help create space in the paint for him to operate either. But, if he hits the glass, finishes around the rim, and knocks down the 15-footer he could survive his first season in NBA-siberia better than the other guys would. So with that in mind, and Anthony Davis going 1st, you are then left with three players for one spot (3rd pick). Too many options could fall to the Cavaliers at four, IMO, and that’s why I don’t see the need to spend no. 24 in order to trade up right now.

I also don’t think we should get too carried away with the “Kyrie Irving is known to be a huge proponent of drafting Harrison Barnes” line either. Kyrie is friends with Barnes. They have the same agent. Played in the McDonald’s AA Game together. But he’s also friends with MKG who he played with at St. Pat’s, and Tristan Thompson’s friends with Kidd-Gilchrist as well for that matter. Those three guys are all cool – Irving, Thompson, MKG – and they all spent time together while Kidd-Gilchrist was working out in Cleveland last month. So while Kyrie would be a proponent of drafting his buddy Barnes, he’d also be a proponent of taking MKG. It’s not like he’s going to be upset with the latter. In saying that then, I suppose, the Cavaliers better be sure Beal is that special if they are going to deliberately (trade-up, spending pick no. 24 to do so) pass on two guys their franchise player already has a relationship with. Like Beal better then be a mix between Allen Iverson and Ray Allen or something.

About Brendan Bowers

I am the founding editor of StepienRules.com. I am also a content strategist and social media manager with Electronic Merchant Systems in Cleveland. My work has been published in SLAM Magazine, KICKS Magazine, The Locker Room Magazine, Cleveland.com, BleacherReport.com, InsideFacebook.com and elsewhere. I've also written a lot of articles that have been published here.